NUR FPX 6212 Assessment 1 Quality and Safety Gap Analysis
There are many contributing factors to early readmission to the hospital. In the home care setting, this can mainly be the result of noncompliance with discharge instructions. Noncompliance can be related to the client’s ability to understand the instructions which can result in an unnecessary readmission to the hospital. According to DeSai et al (2021), there is a decrease in treatment compliance and safety in patients who do not have sufficient information regarding their discharge plans. Patient education during discharge from a facility can be confusing for the elderly patients, leaving them to determine what the instructions are after they return home. Written discharge instructions are viewed as tedious and long with the important information hard to find (DeSai et al, 2021). Many do not have family members available to assist with explaining the discharge instructions presented to them. As an in-home care provider, the task of explaining discharge instructions can slip through the cracks if the paperwork is not available for staff to refer to for patient education.
Proposed Changes to Improve Quality and Safety Outcomes
NUR FPX 6212 Assessment 1 Quality and Safety Gap Analysis
Improvements in the in-home care provider’s procedures for clients returning to the home after discharge from the hospital will be an effort on the part of the in-home aides and the nursing staff. In-home aides will receive instructions on contacting the office to speak to an available nurse when a client returns home. The nurse will request the discharge instructions to review to explain all information to the client and the in-home aide. This will be conveyed in easy-to-understand terms that is on the client’s level of understanding. Both the client and the in-home aide will verbalize their understanding of the discharge instructions and provide their own version of the information if necessary. This method, know as the teach-back method, has been shown to be an effective educational method where the patient repeats the instructions back in their own words (Yen, 2019).
NUR FPX 6212 Assessment 1 Quality and Safety Gap Analysis
Documentation will be recorded per agency policy and for future readmission rates. The nurse will follow up with the client and the in-home aide the following day and in one week to ensure understanding and compliance. The client and the in-home aide will be instructed to contact the office immediately if there is a readmission to the hospital. The nurse will review documentation and contact the client and in-home aide for information on potential reasons for the readmission.